Smoke & Mirrors: Dillen & Freya Dream Again
5/10/2006
Logfile from GarouMUSH.
[GMNote: Stacey GMed this dream sequence.]
[At the Brownstone]
Having given Gretchen her late night feed and soothed the child into sleep, Freya crawls into bed herself. Many kinfolk wouldn't care to sleep with a garou mate at so full a moon as this, but Freya is the type to scoff at danger; and besides, she trusts Dillen in a way few kinfolk are privileged to trust their partners. Tired as she is, she's soon asleep next to him. As she enters dream-sleep, she's still next to him, but dressed and upright, standing with him in a narrow city alley, holding Gretchen in her arms, as the wind howls down the gap between buildings at them all.
A lot of sleepless nights have kept Dillen to the bawn or the farmhouse but soon one must return to the family. He rests comfortably, dreaming once again. He's looking around the alleyway, checking out trouble. He's not looking at the wife and child, but more to what could happen. He sniffs the air a little.
The howling wind turns cold, bringing shivers to the small family and causing young Gretchen to cry, her sobs echoing down the quiet street. The full moon shines high in the sky, and the Galliard can sure feel its pull as he stands next to Freya in the alley. There's the sound of what might be a skirmish around a corner up ahead, like claws scraping the concrete, but otherwise all is silent.
Freya hefts Gretchen closer to her, stroking the downy hair on the baby's head. "Sssh ssssh," she croons gently, walking forward towards the corner without quite knowing why she is doing so.
Dillen grunts at the sounds around. "Not good." He rolls his shoulders some, a sigh of him being uncomfortable. "Why did we come out on a moon like this?" He grunts again.
Freya reaches the corner first, the child in her arms sniffling, but no longer crying. The scene that greets the kin is not pretty. Within this small dead-end street, she sees a large black wolf, likely in Hispo, growling and threatening a frightened looking young boy. The wolf's muzzle already has blood dripping from it, as do its claws. The boy has a few cuts on his arms and legs, but looks to have avoided fatal damage. Luck. Or he's being toyed with.
[You paged Freya with 'Boy is blond-haired, resembles Lyle a bit.'.
You paged Dillen with 'The hispo looks a /lot/ like Lucas.'.]
Freya knows immediately that there's something wrong here. The wolf is too big not to be a garou in hispo, unless it has fallen through some time-warp from the ancient past into her dream. Instinctively she clutches Gretchen closer to her and opens her mouth to call to the blond boy to run, to get away. But when she opens her mouth, it's as though she's been struck dumb. No sound emerges.
Dillen growls himself. "Back off." As he does his best to shield his family from the beast. He's already grumbling about this event, shaking his head some to keep the change away. "Freya. Back away, slowly. Whatever happens, stay where I can protect you."
The boy is backed up against the wall, shaking with terror, a look of utter hopelessness in his eyes. He lifts his gaze, pleading, begging, and looks past the wolf to Freya. The Hispo growls, saliva and blood dripping down to the cracked concrete beneath him. It seems not to notice the presence of the others as it barks out a single word and then lunges toward the boy.
[You paged Freya with 'Somehow you can understand: ~Shift!~'.
You paged Dillen with '~Hunger!~'.]
With the strange all-knowing that comes in dreams, Freya knows what that bark signified. And suddenly she realises, if not the garou's identity, then the boy's. The blond, scared boy. "Lyle!" she tries to shout, but even at the top of her voice the word comes out as a hoarse croak only, barely audible.
[You paged Dillen with 'Doesn't look like Lyle to you.'.
You paged Dillen with 'Or... Actually, similar, but not exactly the same.'.]
Dillen leaps and shifts at the same time, aiming for the hispo that moves to bring down the boy.
Whispered names have little effect, but what can a kin do to help? Especially one that is carrying a precious baby girl. The boy screams out in hysterical terror as the Hispo pins him against the wall, jaws dangerously close to the boy's neck, as well as at the sight of the Get's Crinos form moving in to join the fight.
[You paged Freya with 'Freya can see her husband shift to Crinos beside her and leap toward the struggle. For a moment it looks as though there may be hope, but she quickly realizes that it is not the boy he aims to help, but the Hispo. He, too, must be convinced that the boy can shift!'.
You paged Bloods-Bane with 'You leap toward the Hispo. He snarls, turning to bite at the air in a threatening gesture as you near before returning his attention to the boy. ~Mine. You have your own.~ Apparently meaning Freya and the child.'.]
Freya knows she can do nothing to intervene. She's human. They are garou. Her baby is in danger just by being here (and as if to underline that fact, Gretchen, awoken fully by the noise, starts to howl). But somehow she has to try to save Lyle, save him as she failed to save him the last time he entered one of her dreams. She stumbles forward as though walking through molasses, reaching out with the hand not clutching Gretchen...
Bloods-Bane reaches claws into the Hispos back, digging in. ~No." And then a glance back to Freya. One that means 'get the hell outta here'. As he does his best to pull the hispo off the boy.
[You paged Freya with 'Your husband places a clawed hand on the Hispo's back. ~I will handle this,~ he snarls, somehow the kin understanding. He glances back at her, a meaningful glare. Surely she is not next! Or perhaps she is in trouble for trying to interfere? Either way, she cannot reach or stop them in time. No hope for the boy... and possibly for her. ~Failure!~ The Hispo clamps his jaws down on the boy's throat, ripping it out.'.
You paged Bloods-Bane with 'You look back to see your wife and child, both coming dangerously close to the battle... And you can see dark shadowy Crinos forms behind them, white fangs gleaming. Just as you place your claws into the Hispo's shoulder, it clamps down on the boy's throat, ripping it out as you pull the wolf back.'.]
Freya screams as the black hispo rips out Lyle's throat in a shower of blood. She's too late. Too late again. Beset by guilt and grief she keeps stumbling forward, then seems to trip on something. Both hands fly out instinctively to break her fall, and Gretchen tumbles from her grasp, and falls with her. And Freya keeps falling, and Gretchen keeps falling, as though the ground has opened up beneath them both, woman and child screaming silently in unison as they disappear into an empty dark void, dwindling into nothing... and then, blessedly, into wakefulness for Freya.
Suddenly, Dillen sits up bolt upright in bed. "The baby." He screams. Then his eyes go wild trying to find out where Freya and Gretchen are. Once he sees that they are all right, Dillen pulls himself out of the bed and walks to the bathroom to splash some water on his face and regain composure.
Freya sits on the edge of the bed looking shaky. "Oh man," she murmurs. "That was the nastiest nightmare..."
Dillen comes back in and just wraps his arms around Freya. "S'okay. I'm here." But she would most likely notice the thin layer of sweat that his own dream brought him.
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